Display panel and method of manufacturing the same

ABSTRACT

A display panel includes a first display substrate, a second display substrate facing the first display substrate and being coupled to the first display substrate, a liquid crystal layer interposed between the first display substrate and the second display substrate, an alignment layer disposed in a display area of at least one of the first and second display substrates, and a partition wall disposed in a peripheral area surrounding the display area of the first or second display substrate. The partition wall includes a body and a capping layer that covers an upper surface of the body. A width of the upper surface of the body is smaller than a width of the capping layer disposed on the body.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This U.S. non-provisional patent application claims priority to KoreanPatent Application No. 10-2013-0105603, filed on Sep. 3, 2013 at theKorean Patent Office, the contents of which are hereby incorporated byreference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The present disclosure relates to a display panel capable of preventingan alignment solution from spreading out when an alignment layer isformed, and a method of manufacturing the display panel.

2. Description of the Related Technology

In general, a liquid crystal display device includes a thin filmtransistor substrate, a color filter substrate, and a liquid crystallayer interposed between the thin film transistor substrate and thecolor filter substrate.

The thin film transistor substrate includes pixels to display an image.Each pixel includes a gate line, a data line, a thin film transistor,and a pixel electrode. The gate line and the data line respectivelyreceive a gate signal and a data signal and are electrically connectedto a gate electrode and a source electrode, respectively. The pixelelectrode is electrically connected to a drain electrode of the thinfilm transistor.

SUMMARY OF CERTAIN INVENTIVE ASPECTS

The present disclosure provides a display panel capable of preventing analignment solution from spreading out to improve reliability thereof.

The present disclosure provides a method of manufacturing the displaypanel.

Embodiments provide a display panel including a first display substrate,a second display substrate facing the first display substrate and beingcoupled to the first display substrate, a liquid crystal layerinterposed between the first display substrate and the second displaysubstrate, an alignment layer disposed in a display area of at least oneof the first and second display substrates, and a partition walldisposed in a peripheral area surrounding the display area of the atleast one display substrate.

The partition wall includes a body and a capping layer that covers anupper surface of the body, and a width of the upper surface of the bodyis smaller than a width of the capping layer disposed on the body.

Embodiments provide a method of manufacturing a display panel, includingforming a first display substrate, forming a second display substratefacing the first display substrate and being coupled to the firstdisplay substrate, forming a liquid crystal layer between the firstdisplay substrate and the second display substrate, forming an alignmentlayer disposed in a display area of at least one of the first and seconddisplay substrates, and forming a partition wall disposed in aperipheral area surrounding the display area of the at least one of thefirst and second display substrates.

Forming the partition wall includes forming a body on the at least oneof the first and second display substrates and forming a capping layerto cover an upper surface of the body. A width of the upper surface ofthe body is smaller than a width of the capping layer.

According to the above, the undercut is formed at the side portion ofthe partition wall to control the surface contact angle of the partitionwall. Therefore, the alignment solution may be prevented from spreadingout across the surface of the partition wall.

Thus, although the alignment layer is formed by an inkjet method,defects caused by the spreading out of the alignment solution may beprevented, and thus the reliability of the display panel may beimproved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other advantages of the present disclosure will becomereadily apparent by reference to the following detailed description whenconsidered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a display substrate according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line I-I′ shown in FIG.1;

FIG. 3 is a view showing a contact angle between a partition wall and analignment solution;

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a display panel according to an embodimentof the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line II-II′ shown in FIG.4;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a display panel according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a first display substrateaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a second display substrateaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a first display substrateaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIGS. 10A to 10D are views showing a process of forming a partition wallformed on a first display substrate according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN INVENTIVE EMBODIMENTS

It will be understood that when an element or layer is referred to asbeing “on”, “connected to” or “coupled to” another element or layer, itcan be directly on, connected or coupled to the other element or layeror intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when anelement is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly connected to”or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there are nointervening elements or layers present. Like reference numeralsgenerally refer to like elements throughout. As used herein, the term“and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of theassociated listed items.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, and thelike, may be used herein to describe various elements, components,regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions,layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These termsare only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer orsection from another region, layer or section. Thus, a first element,component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed asecond element, component, region, layer or section without departingfrom the teachings of the present invention.

Spatially relative terms, such as “beneath”, “below”, “lower”, “above”,“upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description todescribe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) orfeature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that thespatially relative terms are intended to encompass differentorientations of the device in use or operation in addition to theorientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in thefigures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” otherelements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elementsor features. Thus, the term “below” can encompass both an orientation ofabove and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (for example,rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relativedescriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms, “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “includes”and/or “including”, when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will befurther understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly useddictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that isconsistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art andwill not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unlessexpressly so defined herein.

In a display panel, the thin film transistor substrate faces the colorfilter substrate and is coupled to the color filter substrate, and aliquid crystal is injected into a space between the thin film transistorsubstrate and the color filter substrate, which is secured by a spacer.To align the liquid crystal, an alignment process is performed to forman alignment layer on the thin film transistor substrate and the colorfilter substrate. The alignment layer is formed by coating an alignmentsolution on a substrate and drying the alignment solution.

However, the alignment solution spreads out across an area in which thealignment solution is coated due to spreadability of the liquid state.When the alignment solution spreads out, the alignment layer overlapswith a seal and a coupling force between the thin film transistorsubstrate and the color filter substrate becomes weak and a vaporpermeability of the display panel is increased due to the overlapbetween the alignment layer and the seal. As a result, a reliability ofthe display panel decreases.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail withreference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a display substrate according to anembodiment of the present disclosure and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectionalview taken along a line I-I′ shown in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 1, a display substrate 10 includes a display area DAand a peripheral area PA disposed adjacent to the display area DA. Thedisplay area DA displays an image when the display substrate 10 isapplied to a display panel. The peripheral area PA is disposed tosurround the display area DA and serves as a light blocking area toblock light traveling thereto.

The display substrate 10 includes a partition wall WAL disposed in theperipheral area PA. The partition wall WAL is disposed along theperipheral area PA to have a closed loop shape. As shown in FIG. 2, thepartition wall WAL is prepared to prevent an alignment solution fromspreading out when an alignment layer is formed on the display substrate10.

As an example, the partition wall WAL includes a body 11 and a cappinglayer 12 that covers an upper surface of the body 10 and an undercut UCis formed at a side portion of the body 11, and thus a width of thecapping layer 12 is larger than a width of the upper surface of the body11. In one embodiment, the capping layer 12 is protruded outward thanthe upper surface of the body 11 by about 2 micrometers. The cappinglayer 12 may be designed to have a width larger than that of the uppersurface of the body 11 in a range of about 2 micrometers. When the widthof the protruded portion of the capping layer 12 is larger than about 2micrometers, the capping layer 12 may be collapsed in the area in whichthe undercut UC is formed.

The capping layer 12 is removed in the area in which the undercut UC isformed. As an example, the capping layer 12 is configured to include aholding part H1 that covers the upper surface of the body 11 and holdsthe alignment solution on the body 11, and a stacking part Si thatcovers the display substrate 10 with reference to the area in which theundercut UC is formed. The holding part H1 and the stacking part S1 aredisconnected from each other in the area in which the undercut UC isformed. The capping layer 12 may include, for example, silicon nitride(SiNx) or silicon oxide (SiOx).

FIG. 3 is a view showing a contact angle between a partition wall and analignment solution.

Referring to FIG. 3, a surface contact angle θ of the alignment solution13 on the partition wall WAL satisfies the following Equation.

θ₀≦θ≦(180°−φ)+θ₀   Equation

In Equation, θ₀ denotes the surface contact angle (hereinafter, referredto as initial surface contact angle) of the alignment solution on a flatplate and Φ denotes an included angle between the holding part H1 andthe side portion of the body 11 of the capping layer 12, which is causedby the undercut UC.

The alignment solution 13 has the initial surface contact angle of θ₀ onthe flat plate, but the surface contact angle θ of the alignmentsolution 13 is changed on the capping layer 12 disposed on the body 11since the undercut UC is formed at the side portion of the body 11. Thesurface contact angle θ of the alignment solution 13 increases from theinitial surface contact angle θ₀ on the partition wall WAL due to theundercut UC. The increase of the surface contact angle θ is varieddepending on the included angle Φ between the holding part H1 and theside portion of the body 11 of the capping layer 12.

The increase of the surface contact angle θ of the alignment solution 13on the partition wall WAL means that a surface tension of the partitionwall WAL increases. Therefore, the partition wall WAL may hold thealignment solution 13 and prevent the alignment solution 13 fromspreading out.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a display panel according to an embodimentof the present disclosure and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view takenalong a line II-II′ shown in FIG. 4. In FIGS. 4 and 5, the samereference numerals denote the same elements in FIGS. 1 and 2, and thusdetailed descriptions of the same elements will be omitted.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, a display panel 40 includes a first displaysubstrate 10, a second display substrate 20 facing the first displaysubstrate 10, and a liquid crystal layer 30 interposed between the firstdisplay substrate 10 and the second display substrate 20.

The display panel 40 further includes a seal 35 to couple the firstdisplay substrate 10 and the second display substrate 20. The displaypanel 40 includes a display area DA and a peripheral area PA, and theperipheral area PA includes a sealing area SA in which the seal 35 isformed. The second display substrate 20 may include a light blockinglayer 21 formed thereon to block light leaking from the peripheral areaPA.

First and second partition walls WAL1 and WAL2 are disposed on the firstdisplay substrate 10. Although not shown in FIG. 5, the first and secondpartition walls WAL1 and WAL2 may be disposed on the second displaysubstrate 20 or respectively disposed on the first and second displaysubstrates 10 and 20.

The first partition wall WAL1 includes a first body 11 a disposed in thesealing area SA and a first holding part H1 that covers an upper surface(hereinafter, referred to as first upper surface) of the first body 11a, and the second partition wall WAL2 includes a second body 11 bdisposed between the sealing area SA and the display area DA and asecond holding part H2 that covers an upper surface (hereinafter,referred to as second upper surface) of the second body 11 b.

A first undercut UC1 is formed at a side portion of the first body 11 asuch that the first upper surface has a width smaller than that of thefirst holding part H1, and a second undercut UC2 is formed at a sideportion of the second body 11 b such that the second upper surface has awidth smaller than that of the second holding part H2.

The capping layer 12 includes the first and second holding parts H1 andH2 that respectively cover the first and second upper surfaces and astacking part S1 that covers the first display substrate 10. The cappinglayer 12 is removed in the areas in which the first and second undercutsUC1 and UC2 are formed. Thus, the first and second holding parts H1 andH2 are disconnected from the stacking part S1.

Each of the first and second partition walls WAL1 and WAL2 is disposedalong an edge of the display panel 40 to have a closed loop shape andprevents the alignment solution 13 from spreading out. In addition, thesecond partition wall WAL2 disposed between the first partition wallWAL1 and the display area DA prevents the alignment solution 13 thatspreads out through the second partition wall WAL2 from entering againinto the display area DA.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a display panel according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 6, a display panel 45 includes a first displaysubstrate 10, a second display substrate 20 facing the first displaysubstrate 10, a liquid crystal layer 30 interposed between the firstdisplay substrate 10 and the second display substrate 20, and a seal 35to couple the first display substrate 10 and the second displaysubstrate 20.

The display panel 45 includes a lower partition wall disposed on thefirst display substrate 10 and an upper partition wall disposed on thesecond display substrate 20. The lower partition wall prevents a firstalignment solution 13, which is coated on the first display substrate 10by an inkjet method, from spreading out of the display panel 45, and theupper partition wall prevents a second alignment solution 24, which iscoated on the second display substrate 20 by an inkjet method, fromspreading out of the display panel 45.

As an example, the lower partition wall includes a first partition wallWAL1 disposed in the sealing area SA and a second partition wall WAL2disposed inward than the sealing area SA, and the upper partition wallincludes a third partition wall WAL3 disposed in the sealing area SA anda fourth partition wall WAL4 disposed inward than the sealing area SA.

The first and second partition walls WAL1 and WAL2 are disposed to bedislocated with respect to the third and fourth partition walls WAL3 andWAL4. Although not shown in figures, when the third and fourth partitionwalls WAL3 and WAL4 are formed in a column spacer shape and the firstand second partition walls WAL1 and WAL2 are disposed to face the thirdand fourth partition walls WAL3 and WAL4, a cell gap in the edge portionof the display panel 45 may be larger than that of the center portion ofthe display panel 45. Accordingly, the first and second partition wallsWAL1 and WAL2 are disposed to be dislocated with respect to the thirdand fourth partition walls WAL3 and WAL4.

However, when a sum of heights of the first and third partition wallsWAL1 and WAL3 and a sum of heights of the second and fourth partitionwalls WAL2 and WAL4 are smaller than the cell gap, and the heights ofthe first to fourth partition walls WAL1 to WAL4 do not exert anyinfluence on the cell gap, the first and second partition walls WAL1 andWAL2 may be disposed to face the third and fourth partition walls WAL3and WAL4, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 6, the peripheral area PA of the display panel 45includes a pad PD disposed in a pad area PDA of the first displaysubstrate 10, which is not overlapped with the second display substrate20, to receive signals from an external source (not shown). The pad PDmay be a gate pad to apply a gate signal to the display area DA or adata pad to apply a data signal to the display area DA.

The first partition wall WAL1 includes a first body 11 a disposed in thesealing area SA and a first holding part H1 that covers an upper surface(hereinafter, referred to as first upper surface) of the first body 11a, and the second partition wall WAL2 includes a second body 11 bdisposed between the sealing area SA and the display area DA and asecond holding part H2 that covers an upper surface (hereinafter,referred to as second upper surface) of the second body 11 b.

A first undercut UC1 is formed at a side portion of the first body 11 asuch that the first upper surface has a width smaller than that of thefirst holding part H1, and a second undercut UC2 is formed at a sideportion of the second body 11 b such that the second upper surface has awidth smaller than that of the second holding part H2.

When the first and second undercuts UC1 and UC2 are respectively formedat the side portions of the first and second bodies 11 a and 11 b, thesurface contact angle θ of the first alignment solution 13 increasesthan the initial surface contact angle on the first and second holdingparts H1 and H2 disposed on the first and second bodies 11 a and 11 b.Consequently, the surface tension of the upper surfaces of the first andsecond partition walls WAL1 and WAL2 increases and the first alignmentsolution 13 is held on the upper surface of the upper surfaces of thefirst and second partition walls WAL1 and WAL2, thereby preventing thefirst alignment solution 13 from spreading out.

The third partition wall WAL3 includes a third body 22 a disposed in thesealing area SA, and a third holding part H3 that covers an uppersurface (hereinafter, referred to as third upper surface) of the thirdbody 22 a, and the fourth partition wall WAL4 includes a fourth body 22b disposed between the sealing area SA and the display area DA, and afourth holding part H4 that covers an upper surface (hereinafter,referred to as fourth upper surface) of the fourth body 22 b.

A third undercut UC3 is formed at a side portion of the third body 22 asuch that the first upper surface has a width smaller than that of thethird holding part H3, and a fourth undercut UC4 is formed at a sideportion of the fourth body 22 b such that the second upper surface has awidth smaller than that of the fourth holding part H4.

When the third and fourth undercuts UC3 and UC4 are respectively formedat the side portions of the third and fourth bodies 22 a and 22 b, thesurface contact angle θ of the second alignment solution 24 increasesfrom the initial surface contact angle θ₀ on the third and fourthholding parts H3 and H4 disposed on the third and fourth bodies 22 a and22 b. Consequently, the surface tension of the upper surfaces of thethird and fourth partition walls WAL3 and WAL4 increases, and the secondalignment solution 24 is held on the upper surface of the upper surfacesof the third and fourth partition walls WAL3 and WAL4, therebypreventing the second alignment solution 24 from spreading out.

The first and second partition walls WAL1 and WAL2 are formed to preventthe first alignment solution 13 from spreading out on the first displaysubstrate 10. In addition, the second partition wall WAL2 disposedbetween the first partition wall WAL1 and the display area DA preventsthe first alignment solution 13 that spreads out through the secondpartition wall WAL2 from entering again into the display area DA.

The third and fourth partition walls WAL3 and WAL4 are formed to preventthe second alignment solution 24 from spreading out on the seconddisplay substrate 20. In addition, the fourth partition wall WAL4disposed between the third partition wall WAL3 and the display area DAprevents the second alignment solution 24 that spreads out through thefourth partition wall WAL4 from entering again into the display area DA.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a first display substrateaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 7, the first display substrate 10 includes a thin filmtransistor TFT, a pixel electrode PE, and a color filter layer 14, whichare disposed to correspond to the display area. The thin film transistorTFT includes a gate electrode GE, a source electrode SE, and a drainelectrode DE, and the pixel electrode PE is electrically connected tothe drain electrode DE.

The color filter layer 14 includes red, green, and blue color pixels R,G, and B and disposed on a protective layer 15 that covers the thin filmtransistor TFT. As an example, the protective layer 15 includes aninorganic insulating layer, and the protective layer 15 and the colorfilter layer 14 are provided with a contact hole CH formed therethroughto expose the drain electrode DE. The pixel electrode PE is disposed onthe color filter layer 14 and directly makes contact with the drainelectrode DE through the contact hole CH.

A partition wall WAL is disposed on the first display substrate 10 tocorrespond to the peripheral area. The partition wall WAL includes abody 11 including the blue color pixel B of the color filter layer 14,and a holding part H1 that covers an upper surface of the body 11. As anexample, the body 11 is configured to include the blue color pixel B butit should not be limited to the blue color pixel B.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a second display substrateaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 8, a second display substrate 20 includes a lightblocking layer 21, a common electrode 25, and a column spacer 26. Thelight blocking layer 21 may be disposed in a non-effective display areaof the display area of the second display substrate 20 and theperipheral area surrounding the display area. In addition, the commonelectrode 25 may be integrally formed as a single unitary and individualunit over the second display substrate 20. The column spacer 26 isdisposed in the non-effective display area to uniformly maintain adistance between the first and second display substrates 10 and 20.

Meanwhile, a fourth partition wall WAL4 is disposed on the seconddisplay substrate 20 to correspond to the peripheral area. The fourthpartition wall WAL4 includes a fourth body 22 b formed together with thecolumn spacer 26 and a fourth holding part H4 that covers the uppersurface of the fourth body 22 b. That is, the fourth body 22 b may beformed of the same material as the column spacer 26.

Although not shown in figures, the third partition wall WAL3 (shown inFIG. 6) disposed outward than the fourth wall WAL4 may be formedtogether with the column spacer 26 as the fourth partition wall WAL4.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a first display substrateaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In FIG. 9, thesame reference numerals denote the same elements in FIG. 7, and thusdetailed descriptions of the same elements will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 9, a light blocking layer 16 according to anembodiment is disposed on the first display substrate 10 to covercomponents disposed in the non-effective display area, such as, forexample, the thin film transistor TFT.

In this case, a partition wall WAL, which is disposed in the peripheralarea of the first display substrate 10 to prevent the first alignmentsolution 13 from spreading out, includes a body 11 formed of a blackmatrix BM used to form the light blocking layer 16 and a holding part H1that covers the upper surface of the body 11.

Although not shown in figures, a planarization organic layer disposed onthe first display substrate 10 may be applied to the body 11 of thepartition wall WAL.

FIGS. 10A to 10D are views showing a process of forming the partitionwall formed on the first display substrate according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 10A, the color pixel, such as, for example, red colorpixel R, of the color filter layer 14 is formed in the display area DAof the first display substrate 10, and the color pixel, such as, forexample, blue color pixel B used as the body 11 of the partition wallWAL, is formed in the peripheral area PA.

For the convenience of explanation, layers disposed between the firstdisplay substrate 10 and the color filter layer 14 are not shown in FIG.10A.

As shown in FIG. 10B, the capping layer 12 may be formed on the body 11and the color filter layer 14. As an example, the capping layer 12 mayinclude silicon nitride or silicon oxide.

A photoresist layer is formed on the capping layer 12. The photoresistlayer is patterned using a mask, and thus first and second openingpatterns 17 a and 17 b are formed through the body 11 to respectivelycorrespond to both ends of the body 11.

Then, when the capping layer 12 is dry-etched, the capping layer 12 isremoved from the both ends of the body 11 through the first and secondopening patterns 17 a and 17 b and first and second openings OP1 and OP2are formed to respectively expose both ends of the body 11 as shown inFIG. 10C. Therefore, the capping layer 12 is divided into the holdingpart H1 formed on the upper surface of the body 11 and the stackinglayer Si formed in a remaining area except for the upper surface of thebody 11 by the first and second openings OP1 and OP2.

When both ends of the body 11, which are respectively exposed throughthe first and second openings OP1 and OP2, are wet-etched, the uppersurface of the body 11 has a width smaller than that of the holding partH1, and the undercut UC is formed at both side portions of the body 11.

As described above, since the surface contact angle θ of the alignmentsolution 13 disposed on the holding part H1 is varied depending on theangle of the undercut UC, the condition of the wet etching process maybe controlled to allow the undercut UC to be formed at a desired angle.

Although certain embodiments of the present invention have beendescribed, it is understood that the present invention should not belimited to these embodiments but various changes and modifications canbe made by one ordinary skilled in the art within the spirit and scopeof the present invention as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:
 1. A display panel comprising: a first displaysubstrate; a second display substrate configured to face the firstdisplay substrate and be coupled to the first display substrate; aliquid crystal layer configured to be interposed between the firstdisplay substrate and the second display substrate; an alignment layerconfigured to be disposed in a display area of at least one of the firstand second display substrates; and a partition wall configured to bedisposed in a peripheral area surrounding the display area of the atleast one of the first and second display substrates, the partition wallcomprising: a body; and a capping layer configured to cover an uppersurface of the body, wherein a width of the upper surface of the body issmaller than a width of the capping layer.
 2. The display panel of claim1, wherein the capping layer includes a protrusion outward from theupper surface of the body and a width of the protrusion is equal to orsmaller than about 2 micrometers.
 3. The display panel of claim 1,wherein an undercut is formed at a side portion of the body, and whereina surface contact angle θ of an alignment solution on the capping layersatisfies the following Equation,θ₀≦θ≦(180°−φ)+θ₀, where θ₀ denotes the surface contact angle of thealignment solution on a flat plate, and Φ denotes an included anglebetween the capping layer and the side portion of the body.
 4. Thedisplay panel of claim 3, wherein at least one of a color filter layer,a column spacer, and a light blocking layer is disposed in the displayarea, and the body of the partition wall is formed by one of the atleast one of the color filter layer, the column spacer, and the lightblocking layer.
 5. The display panel of claim 4, wherein the bodycomprises a photosensitive organic material.
 6. The display panel ofclaim 3, wherein the capping layer includes a holding part disposed onthe upper surface of the body, and a stacking part disposed on the atleast one of the first and second display substrates, and wherein theholding part and the stacking part are disconnected from each other inan area in which the undercut is formed.
 7. The display panel of claim1, wherein the capping layer comprises at least one of a silicon nitrideor a silicon oxide.
 8. The display panel of claim 1, wherein thepartition wall comprises: a lower partition wall disposed on the firstdisplay substrate; and an upper partition wall disposed on the seconddisplay substrate, wherein the lower partition wall and the upperpartition wall are dislocated from each other.
 9. The display panel ofclaim 1, further comprising a seal configured to be interposed betweenthe first display substrate and the second display substrate to couplethe first display substrate and the second display substrate to eachother.
 10. The display panel of claim 9, wherein the peripheral areacomprises a sealing area in which the seal is disposed, and thepartition wall comprises: a first partition wall disposed in the sealingarea to overlap with the seal; and a second partition wall disposedbetween the sealing area and the display area.
 11. A method ofmanufacturing a display panel, the method comprising: forming a firstdisplay substrate; forming a second display substrate facing the firstdisplay substrate and being coupled to the first display substrate;forming a liquid crystal layer between the first display substrate andthe second display substrate; forming an alignment layer disposed in adisplay area of at least one of the first and second display substrates;and forming a partition wall disposed in a peripheral area surroundingthe display area of the at least one of the first and second displaysubstrates, wherein forming the partition wall comprises: forming a bodyon the at least one of the first and second display substrates; andforming a capping layer to cover an upper surface of the body, wherein awidth of the upper surface of the body is smaller than a width of thecapping layer.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the capping layerincludes a protrusion outward than the upper surface of the body andwherein a width of the protrusion is equal to or smaller than about 2micrometers.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein an undercut is formedat a side portion of the body, a surface contact angle 0 of an alignmentsolution on the capping layer satisfies the following Equation,θ₀≦θ≦(180°−φ)+θ₀, where θ₀ denotes the surface contact angle of thealignment solution on a flat plate, and Φ denotes an included anglebetween the capping layer and the side portion of the body.
 14. Themethod of claim 13, wherein forming the undercut comprises: removing thecapping layer corresponding to the side portion of the body to form anopening; and partially etching the side portion of the body exposedthrough the opening.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the opening isformed by a dry etching process and the undercut is formed by a wetetching process.
 16. The method of claim 11, wherein at least one of acolor filter layer, a column spacer, and a light blocking layer isdisposed in the display area, and the body of the partition wall isformed by the at least one of the color filter layer, the column spacer,and the light blocking layer.
 17. The method of claim 11, wherein thebody is formed of a photosensitive organic material.
 18. The method ofclaim 11, wherein the capping layer comprises at least one of a siliconnitride or a silicon oxide.
 19. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising forming a seal interposed between the first display substrateand the second display substrate to couple the first display substrateand the second display substrate.
 20. The method of claim 19, whereinthe peripheral area comprises a sealing area in which the seal isdisposed, and the partition wall comprises: a first partition walldisposed in the sealing area to overlap with the seal; and a secondpartition wall disposed between the sealing area and the display area.